The Duelist Knights
by lordlink13
Summary: Duelist Knights have taken over Battle City. They have kidnapped the King of Games, Yami and have changed him by defeating him in a duel. Now Yugi and friends must go on a journey to find and release the King of Games from the Duelist Knights.
1. Chapter 1

Note to readers: The sayings in _Italics_ are what Yami is thinking.

Chapter 1: The Ending Duel

Yami sighed as he looked up at the ceiling of the room. His wife, Shalina was fast asleep next to him with her head mostly covered by the blankets. Staring at her, frustrated, Yami sat up and rubbed his eyes. He threw off his blankets and left the room, closing the door slightly.

The white curtains by the open windows were flying in the cool summer breeze. Yami shivered and went over to the windows. He closed them all and locked them.

All of a sudden, Yami heard something crash in the kitchen. He spun around, quickly. There was no noise in the kitchen. Slowly, he crept over to the kitchen, and once in the kitchen, he looked around. Everything was in order except the toaster. The toaster had fallen off the counter, ripping its plug out of the socket in the wall. Yami smiled and put the toaster back.

Once the toaster was plugged in, Yami turned around. Four dark people were in the kitchen with him. They jumped on him before he could let out a yell. One of the people covered his mouth while another blindfolded him. The other two people held him down, making sure that he didn't get away.

They forced him to stand, and the person who was covering his mouth duck taped his mouth closed. The other three people tied his hands behind his back. Then, Yami was hit off the head with something hard like a hammer, and he blacked out.

When Yami came around, he was still blindfolded and tied. His mouth still was covered with duck tape. He started struggling to free himself from the rope around his hands, but failed. He did succeed in cutting into his wrists so they started bleeding. Yami stopped struggling and stood still.

He heard footsteps coming towards him. Yami started shaking in fear as a cold hand took hold of the tape over his mouth. The hand ripped the tape off Yami's mouth, and he winced in pain. Then, two cold hands took off the blindfold over Yami's eyes. Yami closed his eyes in spite of the bright light that was shinning in his eyes. He slowly opened them again.

In front of him stood a teenage boy about the age sixteen. He had exotic blue hair and green eyes. He wore a thin black suit of armor that looked incredibly uncomfortable. On his left wrist was a duel disk with a deck inside the slot.

"Yo, King of Games," the teenager said. "My name is Rayfire, and I challenge you to a duel. If you don't duel me, you'll have no choice but to join me and my gang."

Yami stared at the kid. "You except me to duel you without a duel disk and with no hands!" he shouted.

"I'm so sorry," Rayfire said. "Raygun, Raywind, untie the King of Games and give him a duel disk and deck." Two boys in a red and a green suit of armor came out of the darkness part of the room and untied Yami. One of them handed him a duel disk and a deck.

Yami stared at the duel disk. It wasn't the same one that he had before during Kaiba's Duel Tournament. Instead of light blue, it was a normal blue color and all the card slots were black. Still staring at it, Yami put it on and placed the deck inside the deck slot.

"Before we begin this duel," Rayfire said. "You have to promise that if I win, you will become my slave and hand your title over to me."

"Fine," Yami grunted. "But if I win, you and your gang have to let me go free."

"Agreed," Rayfire said.

"Let's duel," Rayfire and Yami shouted at the same time. Both life points are at 4000.

"I'll go first," Rayfire said. "I'll place two cards facedown. Then, I'll play 'Pot of Greed' and collect two cards from the top of my deck. Last, I place one monster facedown in defense mode. Your turn, King of Games."

_Little twit_, Yami thought as he drew a card from his deck. _I come easily defeat you if I had my own deck._

"Here's my move," Yami said. "I play one card facedown, and I also play 'Battle Ox' (Atk/ 1700 Def/ 1000) in attack mode."

"Before you do anything else, I activate 'Trap Hole'," Rayfire said. "It destroys your monster."

_Like I said, you are a little twit!_

"I end my turn," Yami said. "Your move."

Rayfire drew a card. "I play '7 Colored Fish' (Atk/ 1800 Def/ 800) and I also play 'Malevolent Nuzzler', which brings my '7 Colored Fish's' attack to 2500 points. Now, I attack your life points directly. You lose 2500 life points. That ends my turn."

Yami's LP: 1500 Rayfire's LP: 4000 

"I play 'Hysteric Fairy' (Atk/ 1800 Def/ 500) in attack mode. Then, I activate 'Dust Tornado', and I destroy your magic card 'Malevolent Nuzzler'. With that move, your '7 Colored Fish's' attack points are lowered back to 1800. Now, I attack your facedown monster with my 'Hysteric Fairy'."

"Too bad for you, King of Games," Rayfire said, with a smile. "My facedown monster was 'Mystical Elf'. By attacking it with lower attack points, you lose 200 life points."

"I end my turn then," Yami said, glaring at Rayfire.

Yami's LP: 1300 Rayfire's LP: 4000 

"All I'm going to do for my turn is place this monster facedown in defense mode and end my turn," Rayfire said.

"All righty then," Yami said. "Hysteric Fairy, attack Rayfire's facedown monster."

"Too bad, again. It was my 'Man-Eater Bug' (Atk/ 450 Def/ 600). With its effect, I am going to destroy your Hysteric Fairy."

Yami growled and said, "I'll place one monster facedown in defense mode and one card facedown. That'll end my turn. For now that is."

"Of course," Rayfire said, drawing a card. "I'll also play one monster facedown in defense and a card facedown. Then, I'll use my 7 Colored Fish and attack your facedown monster."

Yami grinned. "This time, it's too bad for you, Rayfire," he said. "That monster you just attacked was The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave (Atk/ 1300 Def/ 2000). You lose 200 life points for attacking that monster while he was in defense mode."

Rayfire glared at Yami. "I'll end my turn then."

Yami's LP: 1300 Rayfire's LP: 3800 

_It's about time that I actually got a hit at this kid._

"I'll play one monster facedown in defense mode, and that'll end my turn," Yami said.

"I'll flip my facedown monster face-up. It's Hane-Hane (Atk/ 450 Def/ 500), and I'll use his effect to put your Dragon Dwelling in a Cave back to your hand. With my 7 Colored Fish, I'll attack your facedown monster."

"It was my Island Turtle (Atk/ 1100 Def/ 2000). Again, you lose 200 life points, Rayfire," Yami said, a bit cheerfully.

Rayfire growled to show that his turn was over.

"I play Harpie's Brother (Atk/ 1800 Def/ 600)," Yami said. "And I'll attack your Hane-Hane. With that move, you lose 1350 life points."

Yami's LP: 1300 Rayfire's LP: 2250 

Rayfire growled again. "I'll play one monster facedown in defense mode, and I'll end my turn," he said, a bit annoyed.

"I sacrifice Harpie's Brother to summon the Summoned Skull (Atk/ 2500 Def/ 1200)," Yami said, happily. "Summoned Skull, attack Rayfire's 7 Colored Fish. Rayfire, you lose 700 life points. I end my turn."

Yami's LP: 1300 Rayfire's LP: 1850 

"Fine, I'll have to play a bit harder than I thought I would have to," Rayfire said. "I play Dark Hole, which gets rid of all the monster on the field, including mine. Then, I'll play Dian Keto the Cure Master, which brings my life points up to 2850. Also, when I used Dark Hole, I activated my Sangan. I'm going to chose Giant Soldier of Stone (Atk/ 1300 Def/ 2000) from my deck." Rayfire placed his chosen monster on the field and shuffled his deck. "I'll end my turn by placing one monster facedown in defense mode."

Yami's LP: 1300 Rayfire's LP: 2850 

"I'll play a monster facedown in defense mode and end my turn," Yami said, lamely.

"I'll also play a monster facedown in defense and end my turn as well," Rayfire said.

Yami frowned. "Again, I will place a monster facedown in defense, but I will also play one card facedown. That'll end my turn."

"I'm going to sacrifice one of my monsters to summon Summoned Skull," Rayfire said. "I'm going to attack one of your facedown monsters."

"Not so fast, Rayfire," Yami said. "I activate Spellbinding Circle."

"It doesn't matter if you trapped my Summoned Skull, King of Games," Rayfire said.

"Yes, it does," Yami said. "I'll place one monster facedown in defense mode."

"I'll activate Just Desserts, and you lose the remaining of your life points," Rayfire said, with a large evil grin on his face.

"What!" Yami shouted, as he fell to his knees. He couldn't believe it. He, the King of Games, actually **lost **a game. To whom? To a teenager kid who was going to make sure that everyone knew that the King of Games had lost a game to him.

"Get up, you slave," Rayfire ordered.

"No," Yami said.

"Get up!" Rayfire ordered, angrily. He held out a hand and a blast of light shot out of his palm. The light hit Yami square in the face, and he fell over. "Get up, slave!" Rayfire shouted.

This time, Yami stood up. His eyes were completely blank with no color in them. Yami was under Rayfire's control. Rayfire walked over to him and placed his hand over Yami's blank eyes. He said something in a different language, and then, he took back his hand. Now, Yami's eyes were blue.

"Now, slave," Rayfire said. "You will be known by a different name, and I welcome you to the gang."

_End of Chapter 1_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Problems

Yugi Muto stretched as he sat up. It was sunny outside, and his wife, Rebecca was still fast asleep. Yugi sneaked out of the bedroom, closing the bedroom door behind him. Quietly, he went downstairs and decided to phone up his friend Yami, who would be up by now also.

Yugi pushed in the numbers and waited. The phone was ringing…and ringing…and ringing…CLICK!

"Hello?" asked a sleepy female voice.

"Hi, Shalina," Yugi said. "Sorry to be calling you. I was calling for Yami exactly since he is usually up at this time."

"You call every morning at six!"

"Yes."

"That's probably why I catch Yami on the phone at eight."

Yugi blushed slightly. "It's just that we promised to call each other at least once a day to see what's up."

"Oh, I have no problem with that. It's just that…Yami isn't here…"

"What? He would never leave the house until nine when he goes to work at the FBI."

"I know, but he isn't here. He didn't even leave a note." Shalina sounded angry now. "I'm going to have to smack him when I see him."

"Em, Shalina, maybe he was called in early to the FBI," Yugi said, trying to change the subject so Shalina didn't go on with what she was going to do to Yami when she saw him again.

"Oh, that's an idea," Shalina said, sounding calm. "I'll call his boss's phone number, and I'll see if he is at work."

"OK, call me back," Yugi said.

"OK, bye."

Yugi hung up the phone. "I wonder if that's what Yami did," Yugi said to himself. "He'd never leave without a note. Not only that, Yami has always told Shalina where he was going." Yugi shrugged and poured himself a cup of coffee. He turned on the news to see if there was anything interesting.

Yugi had been watching the news for about ten minutes when all of a sudden, three kids with armor-looking clothing ran toward two other kids. Yugi recognized one as Weevil and another as Rex. The three armored kids jumped the two duelists, and another came up to the camera.

"Yo, you duelists," the kid said. "We want to challenge every one of you, and guess what? We'll beat you all down!"

"Just a bunch of kids trying to be tough," Yugi murmured. "Yami and I can take them down."

"We know all your faces and all your techniques. We'll get you all, no matter where you are!" the kid continued. "We have a secret weapon that will knock all of you down!"

Yugi heard footsteps on the stairs and shut off the TV.

"I heard that, Yugi," Rebecca said, yawning.

"Heard what?" Yugi asked, trying not to laugh.

Rebecca stared at him. "No matter how hard you try, you cannot keep a straight face like Yami can."

Yugi frowned. "It's because he's still taller than me, huh?"

"Size has nothing to do with keeping a straight face, although you did get taller since Yami refused to go to the Afterlife." Yugi grinned. "You still don't know how to keep a straight face, Yugi," Rebecca said, walking into the kitchen.

Yugi sighed. The phone rang. "I'll get it," Yugi said. He picked it up. "Hi, Shalina," he said.

"Hi, the FBI said that Yami wasn't called," Shalina said. "I'm starting to get worried."

"Could he be playing hide-and-seek on you?" Yugi asked. He started laughing.

"That's not funny, Yugi," Shalina said. "Yami would do that after I'm wide-awake. Not only that, he would play that with all of you here too. He even says that it's not fun playing hide-and-seek with only two people."

Yugi scratched his head. "I have no clue, then." He heard Shalina sigh on the other end of the line. "Maybe we can all go looking for him," Yugi suggested. "Just you, me, and Rebecca." Yami's voice saying 'You, Rebecca, and _I_,' echoed in his mind. "I mean, you, Rebecca, and I can go look for him."

"It's about time you learned to say things right," Rebecca said, walking in with a cup of coffee. Shalina, who had heard Rebecca's remark, laughed.

Yugi hated it when Rebecca teased him like that. It was one of the few things he just had to deal with now that he was married to her. "We'll meet you at the mall within an hour." He hung up.

* * *

Rayfire glared at the green armored Duelist Knight, kneeling in front of him. "I believe you went too far on the news, Raystone," he said in a dangerous tone. "I believe I only tell you to tell all duelists to meet on Saturday at the Clock Tower."

The Duelist Knight Raystone shivered. "I am sorry, Master Raystone," he said, in a shaky voice. " I just thought that it would be better to frighten duelists into bringing their duelist disks with them everywhere so they can fight us off when we met with them. They will know-."

"Silence," Rayfire said, lifting up a hand. He could hear low music beside him. "Dark Knight, turn that music down."

A knight in complete black, including a sword and cloak nodded, apoletically and turned the music down.

"Wait, Dark Knight," Rayfire said. The music was paused. "What song is that?"

"My Dirty Little Secret, Master," the Dark Knight said.

"Sounds good," Rayfire said. "Enjoy." The Dark Knight nodded and the music started again.

"You allowed him to listen to music?" Raystone asked.

Rayfire's eyes burned with an angry red flame. Then, it was smothered. "Raystone, I have decided to experiment and see if he does better with music," Rayfire said. "Now," he shouted, catching Raystone off guard. "Go find the duelists and gather more cards and titles." Raystone nodded and left the room.

Rayfire looked at his duel disk. It had been too easy to defeat the King of Games. What was he going to do with himself now? Should he use the old King of Games to track down his old friends? Or should he, Rayfire look for Seto Kaiba, the second competitor? It seemed like a good idea to search for the next person down, but what about the old King of Games' hikari, Yugi Muto?

"Dark Knight," Rayfire said. "I want you to track down and watch Yugi Muto. I want you to report back tonight." The Dark Knight, without pausing his Ipod, bowed and leaped into the darkness overhead. Rayfire smiled, evilly.

"This will be more fun than I thought," Rayfire said.

_End of Chapter 2_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Search

Yugi paced. Rebecca was reading a book on the bench in front of the mall. They were waiting for Shalina to arrive.

"She's late," Yugi said.

Rebecca looked at her watch. "She has ten more minutes, Yugi," she said, going back to her book. Yugi sat down beside her and started playing with his Fifteen Puzzle that he always brought with him everywhere. He and Yami had make it a game of who could find a way to set the blocks so they matched the impossible problems. So far, Yami proofed that four of the labeled 'impossible problems' were possible. Yugi hadn't been able to proof any other impossible problems were possible, except the ones that Yami all ready proofed.

"Sorry," Shalina said, as she suddenly came walking up to them. She was beautiful woman with long red hair that flowed down over her shoulders and sparkling blue-green eyes. "I couldn't find my cell phone."

"Like that's a worthy reason," Yugi murmured. Rebecca smacked him off the top of the head. "Sorry," he murmured, rubbing his sore head.

"Ready?" Rebecca asked Shalina, slamming her book closed.

"I'm ready," Shalina said. Yugi followed the two women into the mall, not really knowing what he was going to do with himself. It was more of a shopping trip than a searching party. Shalina and Rebecca were looking through clothing when Yugi lost it.

"I'll be in the electonics," he said, walking away quickly before Rebecca or Shalina could call him back to see what he thought of a blue skirt with green and pink flowers. Yugi went over to the cd area in the electonics and listened to some of the free samples. He looked at the new videos and video games. He bought a new pair of earphones for his Ipod since Joey lost the others. To his surprise, Yugi met Tea Gardener in the camera section.

"Hey, Tea," Yugi said.

"Oh, hi, Yugi," Tea said. "How are you and Rebecca?"

"Fine."

"What brings you here on a Thursday?"

"Shalina, Rebecca, and I are searching for Yami, but Shalina and Rebecca got sidetracked by some new clothes." Yugi sighed. "At this rate, we'll never leave the mall until two weeks from now."

"There's not _that _many new things in the mall," Tea said. "Searching for Yami?"

"I called Yami this morning like usual, but Shalina said that he was gone. He wasn't at home or at work. Shalina's worried because Yami didn't even leave a note for her."

"So he's missing!"

"At the moment."

Tea looked at Yugi. "Did Shalina search the house for him in case he was playing hide-and-seek?"

"No, but she claims that he wouldn't be playing it when she was still tired and with only two people."

"He couldn't have just walked off," Tea said, more to herself than Yugi.

"I know," Yugi said, answering her even though she wasn't talking to him.

"You don't think that he went to the Afterlife, do you?"

"Yami wouldn't do that! Not without telling us!" Yugi said, a little too loudly. Changing to normal volume, he added, "Besides, if Yami left to go to the Afterlife, Shalina wouldn't be here."

"That's true," Tea said. "I forgot." Just then, Tristen walked up to the two friends.

"Yo, Yugi," Tristen said.

"Hi. Tristen," Yugi said, smiling.

"I heard the whole conversation," Tristen said, seriously. "Yami wouldn't just run away."

"I don't know what happened," Yugi said, shrugging. Tristen nodded.

"Well, we have to go, Yugi," Tristen said. "Bye!"

"See you later, Tristen and Tea," Yugi said.

"Bye, Yugi," Tea said. Tristen and Tea left the electonics together. Yugi sighed and just left the electonics when he suddenly felt someone watching him. He tightened up and looked around him. The only people he saw were people in the mall, shopping and talking with others. Yugi could still feel the unwanted watching eyes when he rejoined Shalina and Rebecca at the exit of the mall.

* * *

"We've looked everywhere," Rebecca said. "Still no Yami." Shalina looked down with sad blue-green eyes. Rebecca put an arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her.

"Any more suggestions?" Shalina asked, trying not to cry.

"We could try to see if Kaiba could track him down," Yugi said. "Yami had an eye check there to get the eye code in his eyes. Kaiba could track him down, searching for the eye code of his. The only way for him _not _to be tracked down is that his eye color was changed."

Rebecca looked at her watch. "It's almost ten, Yugi," she said. "Maybe we should rest for tonight, and we'll go to Kaiba tomorrow." Turning to Shalina, she added, "If you want, you can come to our house for the night, and you can sleep in the guest room."

"I'll do that," Shalina said.

Yugi could feel the unwanted eyes on his back for the hundredth time that day. He could even sense the presence of the person watching him. Rebecca and Shalina were all ready heading for the car, but Yugi was still standing in the same spot. His blood froze when a crumbled piece of paper fell at his feet. He unconsiously picked the paper up and read it.

* * *

"Master Rayfire," the Dark Knight said, saluting. "I have done what you said, but I was aware that Yugi Muto could feel me watching him."

"He didn't see you, right?" Rayfire asked.

"No, Master Rayfire."

"It doesn't matter then," Rayfire said. "You gave him my 'gift'?"

"Yes, he got the note."

"How did he feel, Dark Knight?"

The Dark Knight hesitated. Something was telling him not to tell Rayfire that Yugi had felt his blood freeze. Not only that, something was telling him that Yugi Muto was not evil, like Rayfire had told him. He hoped that Rayfire didn't notice the hesitation.

"Never hesitate to tell me all the details," Rayfire ordered.

_If only I could fight him again._

The Dark Knight flinched. Was that his voice or someone else's? Fearfully, he said, "Yugi Muto felt...frightened by me watching him."

"I didn't ask you about how he felt when you were watching him," Rayfire snapped.

_Time for sarcastism._

Before the Dark Knight could stop himself, he said, "You told me to tell you how he felt. You didn't ask me to tell you how he felt about anything."

Rayfire's eyes turned red with anger. He stood up and raised his hand. A light flashed from his palm, and it hit the Dark Knight. The Dark Knight flipped over by the force of the blow and landed on his back.

_Shalina!_

"I never thought that I would have to do that to you a second time, Yami," Rayfire snarled. "It seems that I underestimated you. Maybe it is time to destroy you and your friends at the same time, and take over the entire city."

_Shalina...Yugi...my friends..._

_End of Chapter 3_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Kaiba's Finding

Seto Kaiba snarled at his computer as he noticed that he had one _more _email to read and possibly answer. He was in no mood to be reading stupid emails like the previous ones that he had read and answered with a bad mood. He was alone in his office for once since the last meeting he had with his workers who were still working on a way to defeat Yami's God cards. Seto had to give the workers another deadline since they didn't successfully find a way.

Seto glared at the email as he clicked on it. He was exactly glad to find out that it was about a duel. But, what was this? The King of Games has lost a duel! Was that possible? Seto read the email thoroughly, and he found out that the sender was the one who had defeated the King of Games and was challenging him to a duel.

Seto was angry. He always wanted to be the one who defeated the King of Games, but now, someone else had beat him. Seto almost screamed when his younger brother entered his office. Mokuba saw his older brother's angry expression.

"Seto," Mokuba said, cauiously. "Yugi Muto with his wife and Shalina Rivers are here to talk to you about the King of Games."

Seto stood up. "Tell them that I'm busy," he said as he opened a drawer and took out his duel disk and deck. He put the two items in his suitcase.

"But, Seto," Mokuba said. "They're right outside the door!"

Seto paused. He looked up at his brother and then closed his suitcase. He set it beside his desk and sat down. "Fine, let them in and tell them that I don't have much time to waste," he said. Mokuba nodded and opened the office door. Yugi, Rebecca, and Shalina came in and took seats in front of Seto's desk. "What?" Seto asked.

"We were wondering if you could search for Yami's eye code," Yugi said.

"I don't have time to search for the King of a Loser's eye code," Seto said.

Yugi looked at him. "So you know..." he said.

"Of the King of Games' lose, yes," Seto said. "I just got an email from the winner, and I'm going to met him." Seto stood up and grabbed his suitcase.

Yugi slid a folded piece of paper across the desk. Seto stopped and stared at it.

"That is a note that I got from someone," Yugi said. Seto picked it up and unfolded it. "It says that Yami was kidnapped after he lost the duel."

"Rayfire?" Seto said.

"That's the sender," Yugi said.

Seto dropped his suitcase and sat down. He looked at his computer screen and back to the note. "It's the same person," he said.

"What?" Yugi asked.

"This 'Rayfire' sent me an email saying that the King of Games lost, and he wanted to fight me."

"It could be a trap," Rebecca said.

"Yet this 'Rayfire' might know where Yami went," Shalina said.

Yugi stared at Seto. "We're going to your duel with you, but only to find out what happened exactly."

Seto grunted. "Fine," he said. He grabbed his suitcase once again, and the four of them left the office.

* * *

Rayfire smiled as Seto, Yugi, Rebecca, and Shalina walked up to him. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Seto Kaiba and Yugi Muto," Rayfire said. He bowed to Rebecca and Shalina, acknowledging them also.

"_You _are the one who defeated the King of Games?" Yugi asked.

"Rayfire, at your service," Rayfire said, mockingly.

"Where is the King of Games?" Seto asked, angrily.

"Why would you want to know?" Rayfire asked. "Besides, he is no longer known as the King of Games. He is going to tell the world himself that he had lost a duel against a simple sixteen-year-old teenager."

"That's not Yami," Shalina said.

"I agree with you for once," Seto said. "Yami would never admit that he lost unless it was a fair game."

Rayfire's eyes burned with flames. "Duelist Knights!" he shouted.

Within seconds, Yugi, Seto, Rebecca, and Shalina were surrounded by teenagers of all ages, and all of them were in armor.

"You will join the old King of Games in the dungeons," Rayfire said, and all four of them were knocked out senseless.

_End of Chapter 4_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Rescue

Shalina rubbed her head and sat up. Rebecca sat beside her while Seto and Yugi sat in the cell across the dungeon.

"Great," Shalina remarked, sarcastically. "Nice plan, Yugi."

"You're like Yami," Yugi said, frowning, "Blaming me for everything."

"Notice that was sarcasm," Seto stated. He sighed as he looked over toward the entrance to the dungeon. "If only I had my computer…"

"You'll be able to crack the codes," a new voice said.

"Who's there?" Yugi asked.

"The yami of Ryou," a man voice said.

"And the yami of Shalina," a female voice said.

"Shelby! Bakura!" Shalina cried out in relief. "Oh, am I glad to see you."

"Quiet, hikari," Shelby said, covering Shalina's mouth with her hand. Shalina licked her hand, which she recoiled and continued. "You'll give us away, and thieves are not supposed to get caught."

"One of the advantages of having a thief or two for friends," Rebecca murmured, shaking her head in disbelief.

Bakura went to Yugi and Seto's cell to pick the lock while Shelby went to do the same to Shalina and Rebecca's cell.

* * *

"We should really test it first, sir," a Duelist Knight protested. "There could be deadly side affects-."

"Run the machine!" Rayfire barked, angrily. The knight nodded and started up the machine. Rayfire turned to look at his prized prisoner. Yami rolled his head to the other side to avoid Rayfire's evil green eyes. "You know what this machine does?" Rayfire asked the Pharaoh. Yami refused to speak, looking around, blindly through blue eyes.

Rayfire slapped him across the face. His temper cooled after a second. "This machine will destroy everything about you," he said. "Yami, you're _whole _identity will be gone."

Yami closed his tightly. Why was everything going wrong? Where were his friends…his poor wife, worried about where he was. "I've been through worse," he said.

Rayfire slapped him in the face again. "I would like to know _how_ in the world did you get through my spell," he said. "Your friendship might be more powerful than I thought, but it doesn't matter. You'll be destroyed; you won't even be human any longer." Rayfire slapped Yami one more time and left the room.

Yami prepared himself. He closed his eyes more tightly. If what Rayfire had said was true, the fact that he wouldn't be human anymore, than he never would be able to see any of his friends again. He snapped his blind blue eyes open, and for the first and only time, he saw a red light.

* * *

Shalina and Shelby slid against the walls, both on either side of the hall. Their blue-green and hazel eyes glowed lightly, using their power to see in the dark. Around their necks were pendants, carved to shape as their husbands' Millennium Items, and these pendants were one of the sources of the two women's power. They both were born with special powers of their own while the rest were taught to them. Shalina had the power of fire, which also included lightning while Shelby had the power of earth. They were as strong a team as Yami and Yugi.

Shalina stopped as Shelby slowly inched forward. Shelby halted and motioned Shalina to shoot. Shalina's blue-green eyes lit with flames, and she snapped her fingers. Flames spread from her fingertips and ran to the floor. Shelby winced as the non-burning flames reached her and outlined her. However, she shook the fear off and burst into a run toward the wooden door at the end of the hallway. She collided with it at top speed, blowing the door to pieces, going through unharmed.

Shalina ran after her, allowing his flames to surround her as well. She leaped for the burning door, after her yami, right into three Duelist Knights! On instinct, she thrust her leg into a knight's chest, knocking the wind out of him.

Shelby skidded to a stop, turned on her heel, and leaped at a second Duelist Knight. She hit him hard on the head, knocking the knight unconscious.

"These knights are too easy," Shelby remarked, facing the third.

Shalina kicked the first knight in the head, in the chest, and back in the head. The knight fell backwards, stunned with a bloody nose. "I agree," she said.

"When did you learn that move?" Shelby asked, talking about Shalina's four kicks, two in the chest and two in the head.

Shalina jumped into the air and swung her leg around, her right foot connecting with the unfortunate knight's head. "When you have a husband in the FBI and he is taught in self-defense, he'll need to practice with someone at home, right?" Shalina said.

Shelby half-nodded half-shrugged. "Where do we go now?" she asked.

"Intruders!" a new Duelist Knight shouted. Suddenly, he was silenced.

"What was that?" Shelby asked.

"Like I would know," Shalina said. Flames burned in her eyes as she snapped her fingers. The fire that surrounded her and her yami leaped away from them and surrounded a new enemy…

* * *

"Are you sure this is the way?" Rebecca asked, holding tightly to Yugi's arm.

Bakura looked over his shoulder at Yugi, who shrugged. "Yeah, I'm sure," he said.

Seto's cobalt eyes darted to his left and his right. He had this feeling that something was following them. Nervously, he knelt and opened his suitcase. Yugi stared at him as he took out his deck and duel disk.

"Do you think we're going to need those?" Yugi asked. Seto looked up at him, shrugged, and put on his duel disk. "Just in case, I guess," Yugi murmured.

"These are _Duelist _Knights we're against," Seto said.

"Yeah, you're right. I wonder how Shelby and Shalina are doing."

* * *

He flinched at the sight of the flames outlining him. Quickly, he realized that the flames didn't hurt, let alone burn. He stared at the two women facing him. One had bright hazel eyes and long brown hair. The other had beautiful blue-green eyes and auburn hair in a ponytail.

"Who are you?" the hazel-eyed woman asked.

He didn't answer. Knowing that he should attack the two women, he bent into a crouch and drew two scimitars.

"We can see you and know your movements," the blue-green-eyes woman said, flames burning in her beautiful eyes.

He looked at the flames, stood up straight, and sheathed his scimitars.

"Now tell us who are you," the hazel-eyed woman commanded.

He still said nothing. He was a new gang member of the Duelist Knights, though he had no dueling skills, that of he wasn't sure of. Maybe he was in the wrong place…

"Who are you?" the hazel-eyed woman asked for the second time.

"No one of importance," he said, wincing as he realized that he had given the two women a bit of his hidden identity, his voice.

"Yami?" the blue-green-eye woman asked, stepping forward.

Wait, he wasn't Yami. Yami was the King of Games. He wasn't even a duelist! This woman seemed to know the voice of Yami, and he wasn't really sure if he sounded like Yami. "I am not Yami," he said, trying to make a point that he wasn't.

"You sound like him," the blue-green-eyed woman said, more to herself than him.

"Who are you then?" the hazel-eyed woman asked for the third time.

He sighed. The blue-green-eyed woman stepped closer a few paces. She was about halfway to where he stood. He took a step back.

"Are you sure you're not Yami," she asked, stepping closer.

"I'm positive," he said, stepping backwards. He bumped against the wall. "Don't come any closer," he warned the approaching woman. His insides were beginning to react in an odd way. His mind was beginning to race through every thought and every memory. What was going on? What was wrong with him?

"Who are you then, if you're not Yami," the blue-green-eyed woman asked, standing right in front of him.

The word got stuck in his throat. He looked at the woman, examining her. She was _so_ beautiful! He shook his head as his heart started pounding and forced the word out. "Daryl."

* * *

Bakura held up a hand, halting the group. He sniffed the air. Then, he ran forward and turned the corner. A few minutes passed, and he reappeared. He motioned the others to follow.

They turned the corner with him, and they saw five Duelist Knights, unconscious on the ground. The knights were guarding an empty cell, which apparently the prisoner had escaped from.

"I have an idea," Bakura whispered to the group.

* * *

Shalina stepped even closer to Daryl, making him sweat nervously. Something in her heart was telling her that this was Yami, though Daryl had proclaimed that he wasn't. What if this really wasn't Yami? Shalina had to know. She stepped one more step, coming face to face with Daryl.

Suddenly, whatever in her heart, that was telling her that this was yami, stopped. Shalina stared into Daryl's crimson eyes. She knew that only Yami could have those crimson eyes, except Yami didn't have flat brown hair as Daryl had.

"Daryl," she said, calmly. "Do you know where Rayfire is?"

Daryl imply stood there. He didn't even hear what she had asked. She was so close that her breath and his were molding together. He could feel the heat of her body, making him even more nervous. Why was she coming this close to him? Why was he reacting the way he was?

Shelby grabbed Shalina's shoulder and yanked her back a few steps. "You're making him nervous," she whispered, harshly in her hikari's ear.

Daryl took a deep breath. His heart was pounding, and he had this odd sensation that he deeply wanted the blue-green-eyed woman. The hazel-eyed woman was whispering harshly to the blue-green-eyed woman. Why was he reacting this way?

"Daryl," the hazel-eyed woman said, so sharply that he was driven from his thoughts. "I am Shelby, and this is Shalina."

_Shalina…_

Daryl nodded. It wasn't an American name or any other name that he knew. He wondered what it meant.

"Are you a Duelist Knight?" Shelby asked him.

Daryl shook his head. "No, but I am part of their gang," he said. Seeing the look on Shalina's face, he added quickly, "But I was forced to join them, though I had no wish to do so." It was true, and Shalina took it as it was.

* * *

"Raystone, find out what happened here," Rayfire shouted. Raystone nodded and bent down to the two knights who were just coming around. Rayfire stood impatiently, tapping his foot and after a few minutes, Raystone came back to him

"They were attacked by a white-haired man and a brown-haired woman," Raystone reported. "My guess is that there two intruders took the prisoners."

"At least not my _real_ prisoner," Rayfire grumbled.

Suddenly, another Duelist Knight came running toward Rayfire and Raystone. "Sir, the prisoner has escaped," he said, breathlessly.

"What?!" Rayfire shouted. "I gave five of my best knights to guard his cell."

"He escaped…after he knocked all of them unconscious."

Rayfire screamed in frustration. "Send all of the Duelist Knights to find all of the prisoners!" he barked. "I want them alive!" Raystone and the other knight saluted and left. Rayfire growled angrily. Everything was going so well until he sent Yami, as the Dark Knight, after Yugi to send him the note. There just had to be a way to bend Yami to the dark side and keep him bent. There just had to be…

_End of Chapter 5_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Daryl's Power

Shelby, grasping her pendant of the Millennium Ring, led the way back to the others. Shalina went behind her, and Daryl walked on the end. He was curiously wondering why the women trusted him to be on the end. It wasn't that hard to escape when you're on the end of the line.

But Daryl had no intention to leave. He had recovered from the shock Shalina put on him, but he still had a slight urge of wanting her. Not only that, his instincts were telling him that the two women would need him, or their friends.

Suddenly, Daryl felt a sensation to go down on hands and knees. Why he had this feeling, he did not know. Tingling spread throughout his body as a warm fuzzy feeling came afterward. His feet, hands, and ears prickled.

Shalina told Shelby to stop, and they looked at Daryl. Daryl's crimson eyes were slowly turning green as he slowly crouched to the ground. He feel to his hand and knees, and he started shaking madly. Shalina gave a cry as Daryl's hands became huge black paws with sharp claws. His ears turned black and moved to the top of his head, shaping like a cat's ears.

* * *

They ran towards a large group of Duelist Knights. The only thing they hoped was that their disguises would work. They stood among the ranks of the different armor-colored knights.

"The five prisoners have escaped," a Duelist Knight said.

"Does that include the King of Games?" another knight asked.

"He's not the King of Games anymore," a third knight put in.

"Yes, including the _old _King of Games," the first knight said. "Rayfire has commanded everyone to search for them. No one but a Duelist Knight knows how to get out of our base. They are in here somewhere." The Duelist Knights cheered loudly. The disguised group's hopes of getting out of the Duelist Knight base were deflated.

* * *

Shalina and Shelby huddled against the wall, Shelby in front of her hikari to protect her. Both of them watching in horror as Daryl's body deformed. His clothes were turning into black thick fur. Daryl's head deformed into a feline head while his teeth sharpened. A black tail grew out of his rear, and he roared loudly.

Shalina caught the feline' green eyes before it slowly approached them. Shelby prepared herself to fight the cat, but Shalina held her in check.

"It's still Daryl," Shalina whispered. She slipped under Shelby's outstretched arm and knelt. The cat stopped and cocked its head at her. Softly, she called, "Daryl." The feline came over and licked her face.

"What is he? A werecat?" Shelby asked.

"No, the moon can't come in here," Shalina said. She hugged the cat. "He's a panther! I love panthers!"

Shelby rolled her eyes. "Shalina, we have to get to the others, you know." Shalina nodded, and the two women and the panther walked on, the panther walking beside Shalina every step of the way.

* * *

"I want you four," Raystone said, pointing to the disguised knights. "To go check the west-south side."

"Yes, sir," the disguised group said. Raystone nodded and went on to the next four. Quietly, the four slipped away.

"Do you know where the west-south side is?" Rebecca asked.

"Have no clue," Bakura said. "No way out, huh?"

"I know you're skilled, Bakura," Yugi said, "But have you any idea when to stop?"

"Thieves don't stop until they're caught," Bakura replied.

"Maybe we should just leave," Seto said.

"We can't leave without Shalina, Shelby, and Yami," Yugi protested.

"Look, Yugi," Seto said, turning on the shorter person. "Shalina and Shelby can find their way back to us, but I don't care about Yami. He's not even the King of Games anymore. I'm not going to waste my time on a loser like him."

"Both of you," Rebecca said, harshly. "We need to do our 'job'." That ended the fight between the archrivals.

* * *

"It's been two hours, sir, but no one has found even one of the prisoners," Raystone reported.

Rayfire growled. "What about the searches?" he asked. "Has all of them reported."

"All but one search has," Raystone said.

"Which one is that?"

Raystone's companion, Raygun stepped forward. "I believe it is the west-south search," he said.

"Find them and I want to speak with them," Rayfire said. Raystone and Raygun saluted, and they left the room.

* * *

"There they are!" a Duelist Knight shouted. Ten knights surrounded the group, and they led them back to Rayfire. Once they were alone, excluding the fact that Raygun and Raystone were still in the room, Rayfire told them to take off their helmets.

"I know for a fact that you four are not Duelist Knights," Rayfire said. "I'm the founder of the Duelist Knights so I would know which is and which isn't."

Slowly, one knight began lifting her helmet up, but the one next to her stopped her.

Rayfire glared at him with cold green eyes. Then, he relaxed. "Yes, it's Yugi, Yami's companion, and his wife Rebecca. The last two are Seto and Shalina, Yami's wife."

Bakura flinched at the thought that Rayfire thought he was Shalina, but Yugi shook his head. Suddenly, the door burst open.

"What have you done with my husband?" Shalina yelled, skidding to a stop in the room.

"Raystone, Raygun, seize her!" Rayfire ordered. The two knights stepped forward, ready to grab Shalina, but to their surprise, a wall of earth blocked their way.

"An Earth magic user, huh?" Rayfire asked. "I never thought that you would be so…cute, Shalina."

"No one is allowed to call Shalina cute without my permission," Shelby shouted, running in, skidding to a stop beside Shalina.

"Who are you?" Rayfire asked.

"Her lawyer," Shelby said, with sarcasm. Shalina's blue-green eyes lit with flames, but suddenly, she and Shelby were knocked down to the ground. Daryl stood between their prone bodies, holding both scimitars at their necks.

"Daryl, what are you doing?" Shalina asked, shocked.

"Doing what I was ordered to do," Daryl replied, in a dark tone. His crimson eyes held blue sparks inside them, which both Shalina and Shelby could tell that Daryl was under some spell. He looked up at Rayfire, who motioned him to him. Daryl sheathed his scimitars and in a blur, ran to Rayfire's side.

"Who are you?" Yugi asked.

"The one you lost," Daryl said, the blue sparks dancing in his crimson eyes.

_End of Chapter 6_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Daryl's Revolt

"No, Yami!" Shalina cried out in pain.

Daryl grinned widely.

"Daryl?" Rayfire asked him.

"Could you find a better name?" Daryl asked Rayfire.

Rayfire frowned. "Your sarcasm is still alive. I thought we destroyed every bit of you."

The blue sparks in Daryl's eyes disappeared, and he raised an eyebrow. "What sarcasm?" he asked, not understanding what Rayfire said.

Rayfire's green eyes flickered angrily, and he drew a sword. Daryl's scimitars deflected the deadly blade, and he ran to Yugi.

"What is my name?" he asked, suddenly wanting to know who he really was.

"Yami," Yugi said, in shock.

"But I'm not a duelist," Daryl said. He looked at Seto. "Ask me a question that Yami would know."

"When was the last time we dueled?" Seto asked, also in shock.

"November?" Daryl asked.

"No."

Daryl looked at Bakura.

"Do you know me?" Bakura asked. Daryl shook his head and looked at Shalina.

"Shalina," Daryl said slowly, trying to see if her name would trigger something.

"Daryl, you'll never find your true identity," Rayfire said. "That identity was destroyed and you can never return."

"No!" Daryl shouted as Raystone and Raygun leaped on him.

"Stop," Rayfire commanded. Daryl looked longingly at Shalina, afraid of losing her.

"No matter how hard you try, it's impossible to trigger something that is not there," Rayfire said.

"There has to be a way," Daryl said, quietly. Rayfire nodded to Raystone and Raygun, and the two knights started beating Daryl. Daryl screamed in agony as minutes passed like hours.

"How does it feel, Daryl?" Rayfire asked. Daryl looked at the dark ceiling, hopelessly. He didn't even hear the painful screams of the others around him, not even Shalina's.

An hour passed, and Rayfire, Raystone, and Raygun left them all on the ground. Everyone sat up painfully, except Daryl. Shalina crawled over to him, despite her pain, and sat beside him. Daryl rolled his head to the side, to avoid looking at her.

"Daryl?" Shalina asked. Everyone watched her and Daryl. Daryl didn't answer. "Daryl, I might have an idea," she said. Still no answer. Shalina leaned closer to him, having a sudden urge to get him. Slowly, she moved closer until she was basically breathing on him. Daryl still made no move.

Shalina took hold of her pendant and took it off. She clasped the pendant and leaned toward Daryl's face again. This time, he turned his head to face her, and suddenly, she found his lips. He was surprised at first, but he relaxed as he and Shalina continued to kiss. His insides went off like bombs as a feeling of power and happiness. He attempted to wrap his arms around Shalina, but she suddenly pulled away, standing up and moving off to the side.

Daryl opened his eyes and stared at her. Shalina's blue-green eyes told him that she was waiting. Daryl stood up, ignoring his screaming limbs, and Shalina approached him the same way as she had the first time they met, except Daryl wasn't against the wall, as nervous as a frightened mouse. Shalina slipped her arms over his shoulders and around his neck. She stared at him, straight in the eyes; Daryl's eyes were filled with a romantic flame.

"Do you remember anything?" she asked. Daryl thought about it and nodded.

"You approached me like this before…before the Duelist Knights forced me to join them," he said.

"Go on," Shalina said, encouragingly.

"But we were in a house, and I didn't look the way I do now," Daryl continued. "I had…a bad day for some reason that isn't clear and…" Daryl looked deep within Shalina beautiful eyes. "I don't know."

"You are very close, Daryl," Shalina said. "You had come home from work, angry with your old boss who had bumped you off to a low mission as an agent. One of the many triggers I can pull to calm you was this. Remember anything else?"

"What is she doing?" Seto asked, confused about the whole thing.

"Shalina is using movements to force Yami to remember things," Yugi explained.

Daryl, hearing the name Yami, pulled away as the romantic flame in his eyes vanished. "I told you. I'm not Yami," he snapped.

"Of course, you're not," Shalina said. She cast an angry glare at Yugi, whose expression said 'I'm sorry'. She approached Daryl again. Stopping a foot away from Daryl, she held up her pendant. "Do you know hat this is?" she asked.

Daryl took it gingerly and held it. He examined it closely and felt the pendant of the Millennium Puzzle. "It's an upside down triangle with an eye on it," he said.

"Recognize it?" Shalina asked.

Daryl's crimson eyes were filled once again with the romantic flame, the flame that helped Shalina bring him back…to her.

Shalina took the pendant and attached her lips to Daryl's again. Stealthily, she slipped the pendant over both of their heads, the chain growing longer with her power. She made sure that the connecting part of the chain was on the back of Daryl's neck, and she pulled, snapping the chain.

Daryl stumbled backwards, away from Shalina as power flowed through him. It was so powerful that he couldn't bear it. Magic flowed in his mind, his hands and feet, his arms and legs, his blood and veins, and last his chest. As sudden as the power came, it disappeared from his chest into an exact pendant as Shalina's.

"What did you do?" Daryl asked, suddenly frightened.

Shalina stared at him with her famous innocent look. "I didn't do anything," she said, innocently.

Daryl looked down at his chest, noticing the pendant. Grasping it, he glared at Shalina. "I don't need this from you," he said, in a cold voice.

Shalina, hiding her hurt feelings from Daryl's tone of voice, shook her head. "You can't take it off," she said, truthfully.

"You want to bet," Daryl asked, in a challenging voice. He attempted to pull off the pendant, but he noticed that the chain of the pendant was an actual chain, not a necklace chain.

Shalina looked at Yugi, who recognized the chain as the exact chain that held Yami's Millennium Puzzle.

"Why?" Yugi mouthed.

"You'll see," Shalina mouthed.

"What have you _done_?" Daryl demanded, angrily. His anger was suddenly smothered the moment Shalina's arms were wrapped around his neck.

"Oh, Atemu, you know that your boss is an idiot," Shalina said, in a soothing voice.

"That's his real name," Shelby and Bakura explained to Rebecca and Yugi. They made sure Seto wasn't listening. "Only Shalina calls him that when they're alone," Shelby said.

Daryl's romantic flame disappeared and was replaced with an angry flame. He pushed her away. "You lie!" he shouted.

Twelve knights, led by Raygun and Raystone burst into the room; two knight for each person. Raygun and Raystone held onto Daryl. Rayfire entered the room, and he noticed the pendant around Daryl's neck. Shalina hid hers in her fist.

"I order you to take that off, Daryl," Rayfire commanded.

Shelby looked at Shalina, who nervously stared at Daryl. If Daryl took it off, Yami was truly gone, never to come back again. Daryl glared at Shalina, but he did catch Shalina's mouthed words, "It's a present to you, Daryl."

Rayfire slapped him across the face. Daryl flinched. "You remember that, don't you?" Rayfire asked.

Daryl almost said yes, but he looked at Shalina and bit his tongue.

Rayfire slapped him again. "Take that off," he ordered.

"No," Daryl said, still looking at Shalina.

Rayfire gave Raygun a nod, and Raygun reached for the pendant. He took hold of the pendant…

Suddenly, Daryl shouted in a different language, and a lightning bolt from the ceiling hit him and the two knights holding him. The knights screamed and were thrown back.

Daryl ran for the open door at top speed, unharmed by the lightning bolt.

"Get him," Rayfire shouted, but Daryl leaped over the knights outside the room and was gone.

_End of Chapter 7_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: A Love Return

Shalina, Shelby, and Rebecca were thrown into cells near the entrance of the dungeons while Seto, Bakura, and Yugi were put into cells farther into the dungeon.

"What was it that Daryl said?" Rebecca asked.

"It's an Egyptian spell," Shelby said.

"Striking Lightning, it's called," Shalina said. "I'm curious about the fact that the spell worked."

"Despite the fact that Daryl doesn't remember?" Shelby asked.

"No," Shalina said, shaking her head. "He remembers some, and Yami is still in there. I just need to bring him out. It was working also."

"Daryl will be found, dear Shalina," Rayfire said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. "He'll be killed, and you'll be mine."

Shalina waved her left hand at him to show him her wedding ring, but Rayfire didn't notice.

"Sorry, buddy," Shelby said. "You don't even have the looks to take on Shalina. How old are you now?"

Rayfire looked irritated. "Shut up, you…woman!" he growled. Shelby stood and put her hands on her hips.

"Think you can mess with me?" Shelby asked, but Rayfire's attention was on Shalina again.

"We should talk together," he said. "Raygun will come for you tomorrow morning so we may talk all day." With that, he left the same way he came, disappeared from sight.

* * *

_Atemu…Atemu…Yami…Atemu…_

Daryl shook his head. He wasn't named either of those two names. Why was Shalina calling him that? Daryl touched his lips; he could still feel Shalina's lips

Three Duelist Knights walked underneath him. Daryl's crimson eyes stared at their backs hard. One by one, the three looked over their backs, uneasily. Daryl laughed silently once the knights were gone. He was having fun making the knights uneasy. Silently, he lowered himself to the ground and crouched in the shadows. He knew the ways of the underground hideout well, even better than the knights themselves.

Daryl ran heading for the dungeons. He needed Shalina more than anything else at that time. How much he wanted to remember whatever he was supposed to remember.

* * *

Shalina shivered. The dungeon was cold for some reason. She folded her arms and curled into a ball in the corner of the cell.

"Shalina…"

Shalina looked up into Daryl's crimson eyes. "Daryl?" she asked, standing up.

He held up a finger to his lips, telling her to be silent. Slowly, he opened the cell door, and to answer Shalina's surprised expression, he held up keys. He put the keys in his pouch, where they wouldn't make any noise.

"Shalina," Daryl said, in a quiet voice. "Answer me truthfully. Am I Yami, or Atemu, the King of Games?"

Shalina looked him straight in the eye. "Yes, you are."

"Prove it," Daryl challenged.

Shalina had him against the wall within seconds. "Atemu, or Yami has a powerless, joyful feeling when I have him trapped like this," she said. Daryl sis feel joyful but powerless. Shalina slipped her arms over his shoulder and around his neck. "Atemu has a warm feeling when I do this." Daryl again had a warm feeling.

"He turned red when I do this in public," she said, kissing Daryl's cheeks. Daryl blushed.

Shalina turned around and placed her back against Daryl's chest. "Atemu wraps his arms around my shoulders when I do this and I'm sad about something." Daryl noticed his arms draped around Shalina's shoulders.

"Both of us are excited," Shalina said. Immediately, Daryl's arms went from around her shoulders to around her chest.

Daryl smiled, and he spun Shalina to face him. To his surprise, she slapped him. He wasn't even angered about it. "You would turn and walk away, but you are still against the wall," Shalina said, wrapping her arms around Daryl's neck.

"What next?" he asked, eagerly.

Shalina smiled as her body touched his. "One more thing for you to learn," she said. Both of them closed their eyes. Her lips connected with his.

Suddenly, Daryl's eyes opened, and everything whirled around him and Shalina. He closed his eyes and pulled Shalina tighter to him, finally tasting her love in full. Memories flashed back to him as Shalina pushed back on his lips, also tasting his sweet love. Daryl felt the power that he had not felt in so long. Power of himself, power over his life, power over his memories, power over his own name…power over Shalina and her love. Hungrily, Daryl wrapped his arms around Shalina and pulled her in even more. She did likewise, and just as hungrily.

He forgot everything about Rayfire, about his loss, and many others until his lips were released. He was no the Dark Knight or Daryl. Shalina looked up into, not the crimson eyes of Daryl, but the crimson eyes of her husband…Yami…_Atemu_.

_End of Chapter 8_


	9. Chapter 9

Note to readers: The sayings in _italics _are what Rayfire is thinking.

Chapter 9: Pay Back!

Raygun approached the two guards. He only had to look at them, and they obediently opened the door to the dungeon. He went in and did not come back out…

_What in the world is keeping Raygun and dear Shalina?_ Rayfire thought. He was angry and frustrated. Was his second commander claiming Shalina as his own?

Rayfire stood up and headed toward the dungeon. He glared at the two guards, who quickly opened the door for him. They closed the door behind him.

Shalina stood up in her cell, staring at him with curious blue-green eyes.

"Are you ready, my dear Shalina?" Rayfire asked. She shook her head and grinned with her dangerous expression on her face that reminded Rayfire so much about Yami. _Why is she looking at me like that?_Rayfire thought, nervously stepping back.

"You thought you could woe my woman as easily as you erased my mind, planting the memory of an old friend within me, huh, Rayfire," a voice spoke behind him. Rayfire spun to face the Pharaoh. His star-shaped hair; the bangs, the color; his daring eyes, the challenging tone of voice, everything was back. Yami had returned in full, never to be changed again.

"I've come for the title that is rightfully mine," Yami said, standing comfortably against the dungeon door with his arms folded across his chest. The famous serious challenging gleam was in his crimson eyes.

"The same title I fairly won from you," Rayfire said, lifting his palm at Yami, and a bright red light shot out toward Yami full force. To Rayfire's surprise, the light was deflected by an invisible wall. It was only then that Rayfire noticed the Millennium Puzzle around his neck.

"I wouldn't call that duel a fair one," Yami said, calmly. "You used your powers to simply change my cards and yours. From the beginning, you had known the whole course of the duel."

_How did he know?_ Rayfire thought, darkly.

As if hearing his thought, Yami said, "You were luckily that I didn't have the Millennium Puzzle last time, or I would have stopped your cheating sooner and none of this would have happened.

"Now, I challenge you, Rayfire, for the title of 'King of Games', and no magic," Yami said, producing a duel disk (which was actually Seto's) and a deck (which Yami just made out of some cards in Seto's briefcase). "As the King of Games, the first thing you must know is that you can't refuse a challenge."

_So I've noticed_, Rayfire thought, glaring at his opponent. Using his magic, he too produced the Duelist Knight duel disk and his deck, the same one he had used to beat Yami the first time. The two of them shuffled each other's deck and placed the decks in their slots.

"Let's duel!" Yami and Rayfire shouted in unison.

"We'll have 8000 life points this time," Yami said.

Rayfire nodded in agreement and smirked. "You're just trying to stall your failure."

Yami smiled. "How about I start the duel this time," he said, drawing a card. "Fire, I'll place two cards face-down and one monster face-down in defense mode. You're move."

_He looks so confident_, Rayfire thought, annoyed. _I'll crush that evil look on his smug face. I'll show him who the real King of Games really is._

"I'll place two cards face-down as well, and I'll play 'Neo the Magic Swordsman' (Atk/1700 Def/1000) in attack mode. I attack your face-down card."

"My face-down monster was 'Wall of Illusion' (Atk/1000 Def/1850)," Yami said with a grin. "Not only do you lose life points, your monster goes back to your hand by 'Wall of Illusion's' special effect." Rayfire growled in annoyance.

**Yami's LPs: 8000 Rayfire's LPs: 7850**

"Now," Yami said, drawing a card. "I play one card face-down, and a monster in face-down defense mode. I end my turn."

"I draw," Rayfire said, loudly. "I play 'Harpie's Brother' (Atk/1800 Def/600) in attack mode. Attack Yami's face-down monster." It was 'The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave' (Atk/1300 Def/2000). "I'll end my turn," Rayfire growled.

**Yami's LPs: 8000 Rayfire's LPs: 7650**

"I sacrifice my two monsters," Yami began, "To summon 'Blue-Eyes While Dragon' (Atk/3000 Def/2500)."

"Wait a minute," Rayfire said. "I activate 'Trap Hole', and it-"

"Destroys my 'Blue-Eyes', I know," Yami said with a bored look in his eyes.

_How dares he give me that tone, let alone interrupt me._

"I'll end my turn with that," Yami said, unbothered by the fact that he had no monsters on his side of the field.

"I play two cards face-down and play 'Card Destruction'." Rayfire and Yami discarded their hands and drew new cards. "Now, I'll attack with my 'Harpie's Brother', and end my turn."

**Yami's LPs: 6200 Rayfire's LPs: 7850**

"How do you like that, Yami?" Rayfire taunted. "Only one attack and you're life points are lower than mine!"

"You don't know much about the gaming rules, 'King of Games'," Yami said, mockingly grinned at Rayfire. He drew a card. "First, I play 'Dark Hole', and since you know what it does, I'm not going to repeat it. (Lordlink13: In case you readers don't know, 'Dark Hole' destroys all monsters on both fields.) Then, I play one monster face-down in defense. Last but not least, I activate 'Monster Reborn' to reborn 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon'. Now, I attack your life points. Go!"

"I'll first play 'Light of Intervention'."

"My face-down monster was 'Mystical Elf' (Atk/800 Def/2000)," Yami said, in his bored tone. Rayfire growled.

"I'll play one monster face-down in defense mode, and that'll end my turn," Rayfire said.

**Yami's LPs: 6200 Rayfire's LPs: 4650**

"I draw and place 'Battle Ox' (Atk/1700 Def/1000) in attack mode," Yami said, "And I'll attack your face-down monster." Rayfire growled as his 'Battle Ox' was shown and destroyed. "Last, I'll attack with my 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon' and end my turn."

"First, I'll play 'Change of Heart' on your 'Blue-Eyes', and then, I play '7 Colored Fish (Atk/1800 Def/800). I'll use my new monster to attack your 'Battle Ox', and your 'Blue-Eyes' will attack your 'Mystical Elf'."

"Nice comeback," Yami complimented.

"I'm not finished. I'll activate 'Tribute to the Doomed', and I destroy the 'Blue-Eyes'."

"Good strategy, Rayfire," Yami complimented nicely again. "Using a powerful monster of your enemy's and then getting rid of it when you're done. I congratulate you."

"You mock me," Rayfire said. "I end my turn."

**Yami's LPs: 6100 Rayfire's LPs: 1650**

"I'll play one monster face-down in defense," Yami said.

_You can't win in defensive mode_, Rayfire thought. _Just wait, I'll crush you like a bug to show you that I have only been playing with you until now._

"I'll use my '7 Colored Fish' to attack your face-down monster, which is?"

"My monster was 'Hane-Hane' (Atk/450 Def/500)," Yami finished. "Since you activated its effect, I'm sending your fish back into your hand."

Rayfire put his '7 Colored Fish' back in his hand. However, since he had not played any monsters for that turn, he summoned his '7 Colored Fish' back to the field. He ended his turn with a growl.

**Yami's LPs: 6100 Rayfire's LPs: 1650**

"I'll play 'Remove Trap' to get rid of your 'Light of Intervention', and I'll place one card face-down. Your move," Yami said, giving Rayfire a daring look.

"I'll equip my fish with 'Black Pendant', boosting my monster's attack points. Now, my fish, attack Yami's life points directly."

"Sorry to disappoint," Yami said. "I attack 'Waboku' so I take no damage."

"Fine, your turn," Rayfire growled.

**Yami's LPs: 6100 Rayfire's: 1650**

"I'll play one monster in face-down defense," Yami said, "And I'll activate 'Dust Tornado' to destroy 'Black Pendant'."

"You lose 500 life points," Rayfire pointed out.

"I'm aware of that," Yami said. He gestured to Rayfire. "Go."

Rayfire grumbled. "I'll play 'Axe of Despair' and equip it to '7 Colored Fish', making its attack points 2800. I attack your face-down monster. Ha, it's only a 'Great White' (Atk/1600 Def/800)."

**Yami's LPs: 5600 Rayfire's LPs: 1650**

"I'll only play one monster face-down in defense," Yami said. "That'll be my turn."

"I'll play 'Premature Burial', meaning I'll be losing some life points, to get 'La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp' (Atk/1800 Def/1000) from my graveyard, which I had discarded with 'Card Destruction'. Then, I'll sacrifice both my monsters for _my_ own 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon'. I'll attack your monster."

"Surprisingly, it's 'La Jinn' also," Yami said, casually.

**Yami's LPs: 5600 Rayfire's LPs: 850**

"Activate 'Pot of Greed' so I get two cards. Then, I'll play one card face-down. That's it."

Rayfire did not hesitate. "My 'Blue-Eyes' will attack directly. That's it!"

**Yami's LPs: 2600 Rayfire's LPs: 850**

"I'll play 'Dian Keto the Cure Master' to receive 1000 life points, and I'll end my turn," Yami said, simply.

"I'll play 'Gearfried the Iron Knight' (Atk/1800 Def/1600)," Rayfire said.

"I activate 'Trap Hole' to destroy your new monster," Yami said. "Go ahead."

_Why is he being so polite or…respectful…_

"I'll attack directly," Rayfire finished.

**Yami's LPs: 600 Rayfire's LPs: 850**

"I play one monster face-down in defense," Yami said. "Now, Rayfire, your next move determines who wins and who loses. It's your choice."

Rayfire suddenly got nervous, but he shook that feeling off. "I'll play 'Dark Blade' (Atk/1800 Def/500)…"

"And _I'll_ activate 'Just Desserts', and you lose all of your remaining life points," Yami said. "I finished you off the same way you did to me. You felt overconfident, like I did. I learned something from that the hard way, and you have too…all I hope is that you use that mistake in a good way, as I have."

"Oh, Atemu!" Shalina cried, running to him. He caught her in his arms and kissed her.

Rayfire slumped to his knees. He had lost the title that he had planned to get for so long. What had he done wrong?

_End of Chapter 9_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Cooling Down?

"Rivers? Rivers, are you there?...Dagnabbit, Rivers, pick up the bloody phone!"

Yami stirred on the couch in his office. A book lay open on his chest and his left arm was hanging off the couch. He was at the FBI, apparently off-duty when his boss was calling him on his office phone. His boss hung up, and Yami, still fast asleep, rolled over to his side, making his book fall to the ground.

A few minutes later, the phone rang again.

"Atemu, honey, it's me," Shalina's voice said on the answering machine. "This had better not be a game because your boss called me. You know what I'm capable of…Atemu, are you asleep? Atemu, WAKE UP!"

Yami jumped, falling off the couch and hitting his head hard on the floor, despite the fact that it was carpet. He groaned loudly, and walked over to his desk, rubbing the back of his head. He pushed the speaker button. "Hello?" he asked, not aware that it was Shalina on the phone.

"Hello, honey," Shalina said sweetly, knowing what had happened since Yami did it at least once a week. "How are things?" she asked.

"Fine," Yami said, releasing a yawn as he went to pick up his book.

"Fell asleep on the job again, you slacker," Shalina teased.

Yami frowned. "Ha, ha, very funny," he said, sarcastically. "I'm off-duty. Why are you calling?"

Shalina's voice became strict. "Your boss called you, and since _you_ were asleep, he called me to tell me that _you_ weren't answering so he asked if I would call _you_ and see what was wrong with _you_."

"Okay, okay, you can stop saying you in that special way. You know how much that annoys me," Yami said, dropping his book on his desk, after putting the bookmark inside it, marking his page. "I'm going to see my boss now, Shalina."

"You don't want to talk?"

"I said _now_!"

"Okay, I love you, Atemu," Shalina said, sweetly.

"Love you," Yami said, closing his office door. He went to his boss' office and entered.

"Rivers, what happened?" Yami's boss, Mr. Bond (James Bond) asked. (Mind you, this is Yami's latest boss.)

"Fell asleep, James," Yami said, taking a seat on the opposite side of Bond. "You know how boring William Shakespeare's _Romeo and Juliet_ can be."

"You were reading that?"

"I was kidding. Just happened to fall asleep, figuring I'd only close my eyes for a few seconds."

"Wonderful," Bond said, sarcastically. He slid a cream-colored folder across the desk to Yami, who took it and looked at him with curiosity. "That," Bond said, pointing to the folder, "Is your next mission."

"Great," Yami said, sarcastically. "Am I in some weird place again, where my airplane will be shot at to see if it will attack back?"

"There are many idiots who were not meant to be pilots, Rivers," Bond said. "Don't worry, you'll be here for this mission. It's a boy named…"

"Wait, let me read it first," Yami said, opening the folder. His crimson eyes widened, and then, he looked up at Bond, a grin on his face. "I know this one," he said. He slapped the folder closed, tucked it under his arm, and stood up. "If that's all, I'll read _all_ the info," he said.

Bond nodded, and Yami left the room.

* * *

"Wimp, you're such a loser!" a teenage boy shouted, punching another teenage boy in the face. "You ended the Duelist Knights _just_ because you lost your title."

The beating went on for five minutes. All of the teenage boys left the victim bruised and bleeding from minor cuts.

Rayfire picked up his fallen sweatshirt that had a picture of the King of Games on it and clenched it. His mind throbbed. All of his machines were not working, except the chip in his mind. Why was he born into such a cruel world?

"Rayfire?...Rayfire?" a voice called. Rayfire didn't bother to answer. He did not recognize the voice, but he had a feeling that he would recognize the person once he saw his face.

Someone took Rayfire's sweatshirt out of his hands and placed it around his shoulders. The same person helped him to his feet and led him out of the alley. Rayfire sat down in the back of a black BMW, and as the person sat in the front seat, Rayfire laid down and was engulfed by the darkness of sleep.

"Rayfire…Rayfire…"

"What?" Rayfire mumbled.

"Rayfire…wake up…" He did so, to find out he was being held. "Come on, have some broth…" Rayfire sipped at the hot liquid and looked up. Everything was blurry at first and then gradually, his vision cleared. Blue-green eyes…auburn hair…unbelievable beauty…

"Shalina?" Rayfire said, his eyes widening.

"Hi," Shalina said, wrapping a blanket around him. "How are you?"

"Horrible," he said, sipping at the broth, suddenly realizing how much pain he was in.

"That's what I thought." Rayfire and Shalina looked up toward the doorway where Yami stood, leaning against the inside of the doorway with his arms folded and legs crossed. "Yo, Rayfire," he said.

Rayfire just stared at him as if he was some angel. Then, he looked away. "Life's horrible," he mumbled.

Yami uncrossed his legs. "Life's meant to be a challenge, Rayfire," he said.

"Why didn't you leave me to my misery?"

"I couldn't, Rayfire, and I'll tell you why," Yami said. "First of all, that's not my nature, to allow someone fall into a pit of darkness when they have a chance to change. It's like throwing an innocent person who had done nothing wrong into the burning flames of Hell, or the Shadow Realm. Second, my mission with the FBI was to capture you and put you in jail." Rayfire's eyes widened. "But I'm not going to do that either. You have no evil within you, Rayfire."

"What?" the teenager asked, not understanding.

Yami put a hand on his Millennium Puzzle. "I have tested you with the power of my Millennium Item, and I have seen what led you to what you have become.

"You were about nine when your parents abandoned you because they found out you had mental problems. Though you were an intelligent boy, they left you in the alleys, and you were forced to fight for survival. You stole a new machine that helped your mental problems, and seeing me on TV, you decided to beat me to show your parents that you were worth having.

"However, every plan has a fault," Yami said. "I managed to escape your grasp twice, and I tracked you down to take back my title that you stole." Rayfire winced. Yami unfolded his arms and left the room.

"He knows me too well…"Shalina said, glaring after her husband.

"What?" Rayfire asked.

"I was going to tell him off until you finished your broth and had more rest," Shalina explained. She rubbed his shoulder. "It's okay now, though he'll talk to you again later." Rayfire grinned.

* * *

"What the heck!"

Rayfire jumped awake as something banged hard against the wall. He could hear Shalina yelling at Yami to be quiet, despite the fact that Yami was on a rampage. He put his pillow over his head, muffling out the yelling.

Suddenly, the phone started ringing. Rayfire jumped up and ran downstairs to get it. He picked it up.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hi, it's Yugi," the caller said.

"Hi, um, it's…Rayfire."

"Huh?"

"Yami took me in."

"For how long?"

"No clue."

Yugi was quiet for a second. "Is Yami or Shalina available?"

"No, they're…" There was a scream of fury from upstairs.

"Oh…fighting again…oh brother," Yugi sighed. "So, Rayfire, how are you doing?"

"Fine…I guess," Rayfire answered, sadly.

"Cheer up, Rayfire. Whatever the reason Yami took you in, you'll be better soon."

"I hope…"

"…Rayfire?"

"Yeah?"

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen…"

"How long have you been out on the streets?"

"Six years…"

"I'm sorry…"

"No, it's fine…I'll have to tell the whole truth to Yami soon…once he's calmed down, that is."

Shalina came down the stairs. "Rayfire, why are you…" she began. "Oh, who's that?"

"Yugi," Rayfire responded.

"Tell him that Yami will call him back later."

"Yugi, Shalina says that Yami'll call you back later," Rayfire said.

"Hey, that's fine. Nice talking to you. Bye!"

"Bye," Rayfire said. He hung up the phone and looked at Shalina. "What was that about?" he asked.

"Bond, Yami's boss, left this morning to go on a mission of his own in China, and Yami is stuck with his old boss, whom he hates beyond reason," Shalina said. "Want something to eat?"

"Sure," Rayfire said, following her into the kitchen.

"I know you're going to tell Yami later on, but could I hear the truth?" Shalina asked. Rayfire nodded and began his story.

* * *

**Two weeks later…**

"You, Rivers," Mr. Port (Yami calls him "The Pork") shouted. "Mr. Bond says that you were given a mission. What missions is that because I know for a fact that you haven't done anything about it!"

Yami calmly laid back in his office chair, a grin on his face and hands behind his head. He found it amusing that his old boss didn't call him into _his_ office. This was Yami's territory, and The Pork couldn't do anything about it.

"Answer me, Rivers!" The Pork shouted.

Yami placed his feet on the desk just to aggravate The Pork. "Look, whatever my mission is, it's none of your business, Port," he said, coolly.

"It's _Mister_ Port to you, Rivers!"

Yami sighed. "Did you _not_ get the memo yesterday, _Pork_, that said I was promoted to a red expert, a rank higher than you?"

"I'm still your boss!"

Yami looked at him with daring crimson eyes. "Or are you?" he asked, challengingly.

The Pork's face turned beet red with anger. "Rivers, I was placed as your boss."

"Hold on, did my ears hear '_I _was placed as _your_ boss', or '_You _were placed as _my _boss'?"

"You heard me," The Pork said, stabbing a fat finger in Yami's face.

Yami stared at him and was about to say something when his cell phone started vibrating on the desk. He picked it up and flipped it open. The Pork nearly screamed.

"Hi, honey," Shalina's voice said.

"Hi, sweetheart, nice timing," Yami complimented.

"Did I call during something important?"

"No, The Pork was going anyways." Yami cast a glance at his old boss who was on the edge of exploding.

"The Pork, he says," Shalina said, off to the side so both Yami and the other person could hear."

"Yo, Rayfire," Yami said.

"Yo," Rayfire replied.

"_Rayfire_," The Pork repeated. "_He_ is your mission."

Yami looked at him. "Yes, and if you breathe a word of this, I'll have your head."

"_How dare _you insult me?"

"I can insult you whenever I want."

"You have no right! I'm…I'm your boss!"

"No longer, Pork!" Yami shouted, his temper rising suddenly. "I'm a rank higher than you so that's makes me boss over _you_. As for why you are even in the FBI when you do nothing but eat all of the food in the kitchen and machines and pretend that you are boss over everyone, I have no idea, and I don't care! You made everyone afraid of you, but Bond and I are not like the others; we both hate you beyond description! I'm going to do something no one else would have the _guts_ to do. Pork, _you are fired!_"

"What?!"

"Get out of my office and out of the FBI! You are fired! And I don't want to see your ugly fat face again for as long as I live! Which means basically forever!"

The Pork didn't know what to do. He stood transfixed on the ground.

Yami knew he had to urge him on. He suddenly up so forcefully and suddenly that he crashed his chair to the ground. The crash scared The Pork, and he raced out of the office and FBI building as fast as his chubby legs could carry him.

Yami grinned, picked up his chair, and sat down. "How are you two?" he asked with a tone of pride in his voice. He would have looked as if nothing had happened between him and The Pork had there not been a grin on his face. Shalina and Rayfire could hear the cheering of the other FBI workers in the background.

_End of Chapter 10_

* * *

**Lordlink13**: Rayfire had a horrible childhood. He only wanted to show his parents that he was worthwhile. To do that, he decided to create the Duelist Knights since he had always that that love for medieval knights. He went after Yami's title as King of Games and actually used real magic, like Yami's magic. Rayfire was born with powers over his mind (like Matilda), but he used machines to create the flashes. He had used his mind powers to bend every Duelist Knight to his will, which he tried and failed to do on Yami.

As for the ending of the story, Rayfire, after a trial in court, lived with Yami and Shalina, though he did not claim them as his parents, and either did they claim him as their son. Shalina had argued to let him go through school, but Yami said that he was fifteen and that it was too late for that. Rayfire's mind chip would sit on Yami's desk at home by his laptop, gaining information every night so it was like Rayfire learned it on his own. Rayfire easily adapted to normal life and received many good friends. However, he was called by the name Bruce so only he, Yami, Shalina, and Yami's friends knew his true name to be Rayfire, as he couldn't remember the name his parents had given to him.

Meanwhile, The Pork lived in terror of Yami returning to get his head. Yami did go to him, but only to get all of the FBI information from the man and to get his ID. However, the Pharaoh left with The Pork screaming, "The Black Death has returned." Now, The Pork resides in a mental hospital.

Hope you enjoy the story!


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